Ted Baxter, of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, wakes up and tries to dispose of his alarm clock. Footage changes to show that of an interview between Ted Knight, the actor who portrays Baxter, and WSB reporter Jocelyn Dorsey. Knight discusses what a big impact portraying Baxter on television has had on his life. He also discusses his upcoming portrayal of Henry Rush in Too Close for Comfort.
Reporter: Dorsey, Jocelyn


Ted Knight (born Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka; December 7, 1923 – August 26, 1986) was an American actor well known for playing the comedic roles of Ted Baxter in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Henry Rush in Too Close for Comfort, and Judge Elihu Smails in Caddyshack.

Knight was born in the Terryville section of Plymouth in Litchfield County, Connecticut, to Polish-American parents, Sophia (Kavaleski) and Charles Walter Konopka, a bartender.[1] Knight dropped out of high school to enlist in the United States Army in World War II along with his best childhood friend Bernard P. Dzielinski (also from Terryville). He was a member of A Company, 296th Combat Engineer Battalion, earning five battle stars while serving in the European Theatre.[2][3]

Career[edit source]
Early roles[edit source]
During the postwar years, Knight studied acting in Hartford, Connecticut. He became proficient with puppets and ventriloquism, which led to steady work as a television children’s show host at WJAR-TV in Providence, Rhode Island, from 1950 to 1955.[4][5] In 1955, he left Providence for Albany, New York, where he landed a job at station WROW-TV (now WTEN), hosting The Early Show, featuring MGM movies; and a kids' variety show, playing a "Gabby Hayes" type character named "Windy Knight".[6] He was also a radio announcer for sister station WROW radio and briefly for WFNS in Burlington NC. He left the station in 1957 after receiving advice from station manager (and future Capital Cities Chairman) Thomas Murphy that he should take his talents to Hollywood.

Knight spent most of the 1950s and 1960s creating commercial voice-overs and playing minor television and movie roles. He had a small part playing a police officer seen guarding the room where Norman Bates, now in custody, sat wrapped in a blanket at the end of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960).[7] He played Phil Buckley on the ABC soap opera The Young Marrieds in the early 1960s.[8] He also made guest appearances in numerous series, including How to Marry a Millionaire, Highway Patrol, Lassie, The Donna Reed Show, Peter Gunn, The Twilight Zone (in the episode "The Lonely"), Bourbon Street Beat, Death Valley Days, The Man and the Challenge, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Mr. Lucky, One Step Beyond, Pete and Gladys, Surfside 6, Sea Hunt, The Asphalt Jungle, Dr. Kildare, General Electric Theatre, Manhunt, Cain's Hundred, The New Loretta Young Show, The Eleventh Hour, The Untouchables, Sam Benedict, The Virginian, Arrest and Trial, Ripcord, The Lieutenant, The Outer Limits (in the episode "The Invisible Enemy"), McHale's Navy, Gunsmoke (as a dishonest lawyer in the 1959 S4E36 episode “Print Asper”), Kraft Suspense Theatre, Run for Your Life, 12 O'Clock High, Bonanza, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Combat!, T.H.E. Cat, The Fugitive, The F.B.I., Get Smart, The Invaders, Judd, for the Defense, Garrison's Gorillas, The Wild Wild West, The Outsider, and The Immortal.


Ted Knight and Georgia Engel on The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Knight's speaking voice also brought him work as a voice artist for various animated series produced by Filmation and Hanna-Barbera, including The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, The Batman/Superman Hour, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Fantastic Voyage, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Super Friends, and Lassie's Rescue Rangers.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show[edit source]
His role as the vain and untalented WJM newscaster Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show brought Knight widespread recognition and his greatest success. He received six Emmy Award nominations for the role, winning the Emmy for "Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Comedy" in 1973 and 1976.

Post-MTM appearances[edit source]
In 1975, Knight recorded an album of mostly novelty songs, Hi Guys, on the Ranwood label (which was co-founded by Lawrence Welk and re-released many of his earlier albums).[9] The title track, in which Knight tries to get out of various embarrassing situations by using his signature "Hi, guys!" line, received some play on the Dr. Demento show.

Knight was the special guest star on the first episode of The Bobby Vinton Show in September 1975. Vinton highlighted Knight's Polish heritage and the two sang a duet of Vinton's hit "My Melody of Love" in Polish. Knight was also featured in a production number based on one of the songs from the Hi Guys album, "I'm in Love with Barbara Walters".

Knight used a variation of the Ted Baxter character for regional commercials.